Lone Star Conference to have four-team football playoff beginning in 2014

Change allows more games to be played in seven-team conference

KINGSVILLE - Two years of off-and-on discussions came to fruition last Friday when the Lone Star Conference Council of Presidents approved the implementation of a four-team playoff to determine the conference football champion beginning in 2014.

LSC commissioner Stan Wagnon said Tuesday the unanimous decision by the presidents was a "multi-layered approach" that addresses several issues the conference is facing regarding non-conference scheduling with the coming departures of Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word and enhancing the league's national prominence.

"We've had an evolving membership over the years. I think probably the thing that's probably different this time around than maybe the last time we faced these kind of numbers in the conference is the surroundings," Wagnon said, citing the LSC's football-playing membership of six teams in the early 1990s. "We're similar to that right now because we're going to have six conference games.

"The difference between then and now is that the conferences around us are not leaving enough dates open to give us enough non-conference opportunities when all seven of our teams would be looking for five games apiece," Wagnon said. "So our numbers, plus the surroundings, are what leads us to this decision and gives us this as a good solution to both of those things."

Under the plan, the top four teams after the six conference games would be placed in a four-team bracket, seeded one through four. The semifinal winners would meet for the LSC title, with the semifinal losers playing for third place.

First-year Texas A&M-Kingsville coach David Calloway said he was "fine" with the new format although it isn't among his pressing concerns as he settles into his new job.

"I'm going to tell you the truth. I hadn't really looked at the format or anything, I just heard about it. I'm not a decision-maker on that so whatever rules come down from up top, man, I'm ready to go," Calloway said. "I'm in the process of hiring coaches, recruiting, getting offseason started, trying to get guys on the same page. So that's really way down the road for what we've got going on right now."

The rub in the format is the odd number of football-playing conference schools. The LSC will be at seven when ACU and Incarnate Word depart for the Division I FCS Southland Conference beginning in 2014.

Wagnon said the conference is continuing its efforts to add an eighth team but wouldn't elaborate as to how close the LSC is to doing so.

"We've been looking at it for a while. We've been in talks with several people that have football and we're aware of several people that don't have football that are considering (joining) somewhere down the road," Wagnon said. "Our best-case scenario is to get that eighth team as part of the league in 2014.

"We understand that the reality may be 2015 or 2016 or some time thereafter. But we believe this model sets us up to answer some of the challenges we're faced with only seven teams," Wagnon said. "We also think that sets us up to be attractive so that someone could come in and be that eighth team and recognize right away there's value to being a part of our group."

If the LSC still is working with a seven-team scenario, Wagnon said the Nos. 6 and 7 seeds would play each other, with the 5-seed facing an as-yet undetermined non-conference opponent. The 5-seed and the winner of the 6-7 matchup would meet for fifth place and the loser of the 6-7 matchup would play the non-conference team.

That would give each conference team two games after the conclusion of the regular LSC schedule, meaning conference schools would only have to find three other non-conference contests to complete an 11-game schedule. If an eighth football-playing school were to join the LSC, conference schools would only need to find two non-conference games to complete an 11-game schedule.

A playoff format such as this spices the latter stages of the season for those schools vying for the LSC title and also conceivably enhances the conference's stature nationally, Wagnon said. Although there are no guarantees when it comes to selecting teams to the NCAA Division II playoffs, Wagnon said the selection committee would see first-hand that the NCAA would be getting the best of the LSC's best that has bolstered its strength of schedules and, likely, landing multiple conference schools in the Super Region 4 field.

"We have become accustomed to having more than one team in the playoffs and I don't see how this does anything to deter us from continuing that trend. Basically, you're going to put the best four teams in our league in a bracket and have them play each other over the last two weeks," Wagnon said. "That's a heckuva lot better solution than asking them to play Oklahoma Panhandle or someone that traditionally over the years has hurt strength of schedule and has been somewhat of a no-win situation. Because if you only beat them by a touchdown the whole committee's going to look at you and think you should have beaten them by three touchdowns.

"So this is a solution that we feel like will present our teams in a positive light at the end of the season," Wagnon said. "Now if you go out and lose, is that going to help your case? Probably not, but that can be said no matter what the game is."

With the impending departure of ACU and Incarnate Word, the LSC presidents also modified the women's soccer, volleyball, softball and baseball tournaments. Championship formats are expected to stay static in all other sports.

The 2014 LSC softball tournament will be a two-day, six-team single-elimination event with the top two seeds receiving a bye. The 2014 LSC baseball tournament will change to a three-day, four-team, double-elimination format. Also, the baseball dates are moved a week later to May 8-10 to allow a better transition for teams advancing to regionals.

The women's soccer and volleyball tournaments will continue to be hosted by the respective top seeds. The women's soccer tournament will now be a three-day, four-team event and volleyball will change to a six-team bracket in which the top two seeds receive a bye.